WrestleRant
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact
Picture

Monday Night Raw Review - July 13, 2020

7/13/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Graham "GSM" Matthews

WWE Champion Drew McIntyre Confronted Dolph Ziggler on The VIP Lounge Hosted by MVP

The back-and-forth between MVP and Ziggler early on about the upcoming WWE Championship match at Extreme Rules was decent and McIntyre's mic work was good, but I'm glad this was kept on the shorter side. I honestly don't think there's much WWE can do to get me excited for their encounter, just because Ziggler as a title contender in 2020 does nothing for me. There's supposed to be suspense over what stipulation Ziggler will choose, but I'm not exactly waiting with bated breath to find out. I will say that McIntyre punching Ziggler before walking off was great, though.

Angel Garza and Andrade def. The Viking Raiders in an Elimination Tag Team Match

These teams worked well together the last time they clashed two weeks ago and this was entertaining as well. I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it a "grudge match," but the elimination stipulation was a nice touch. You had to know it was going to come down to Erik and Garza after both of them "swooned" Charly Caruso backstage beforehand and, obviously, Garza winning was the right call. A Raw Tag Team Championship opportunity should be in their immediate future, but I don't know when The Street Profits are expected back.
Picture

Bianca Belair and Ruby Riott def. The IIconics

It's been three months I believe since we last saw Belair in action on Raw. She's been a regular on Main Event since then, but why did they bother calling her up from NXT if they had no immediate plans to use her? Nonetheless, this was a perfectly fine match and I'm glad Belair and Riott got to shine. I assume Belair was plugged in as Riott's partner with Liv Morgan still being out for unexplained reasons. From a storyline standpoint, I honestly don't see why Riott would need Morgan's help at this point if she has Belair.

Shayna Baszler Sent a Message to the Raw Women's Division

I think Baszler officially turned babyface when she interrupted R-Truth vs. Akira Tozawa before it could happen again. In all seriousness, it was fantastic to see Baszler back after being away for two months. Part of me was hoping she'd win the 24/7 Championship from Truth and proceed to throw it in the trash, but no such luck. Instead, she cut a strong promo putting the entire Raw women's division notice. Here's hoping WWE are done playing games with Baszler and are intent on pushing her to the top from here on out. However, seeing is believing based on how she's been booked on the main roster so far.

Aleister Black def. Murphy by Disqualification

Black and Murphy had a strong series of matches late last year and earlier this year, so it was cool to see them rekindle that rivalry here. What we got from them was fun, but it didn't last long before Seth Rollins interfered. In other words, this was always meant to transition into Owens vs. Rollins and wasn't the main focus. The mic work from Rollins and Rey Mysterio beforehand was good, but I'm very skeptical going into that Eye for an Eye outing at Extreme Rules, to say the least.

Kevin Owens def. Seth Rollins

Similar to Black and Murphy, these two have excellent chemistry together as well. This wasn't on par with their WrestleMania match, but it was still entertaining. I'm actually surprised Rollins lost ahead of his "Eye for an Eye" match with Mysterio at Extreme Rules, but considering he lost last week too, it's safe to say he's winning on Sunday. I have no idea what that means for this storyline and Dominik's involvement in it, however. Owens could fill in for Mysterio, but I'd rather he move onto something else entirely after feuding with Rollins from November through April.

Randy Orton def. 24/7 Champion R-Truth (Non-Title)

This match came to be after Truth accidentally bumped into Orton backstage. I appreciated it was advertised in advance, but I don't know how many people turned into Raw just to see Orton face the 24/7 Champion in a non-title matchup. It was exactly what it needed to be with Orton winning within seconds. Orton vs. Big Show in a Non-Sanctioned match was made official afterward but for next week's Raw instead of Extreme Rules. It should be a decent ratings booster for that show, but I can't be the only one who thinks it's illogical to hold what is essentially a No Disqualification bout the night after a pay-per-view called Extreme Rules. Oh well.

Bobby Lashley def. Ricochet

These two had a very enjoyable match a few weeks ago on Raw, but this was significantly shorter and was designed to put Lashley over strong, which it did. Lashley and MVP vs. Ricochet and Cedric Alexander really isn't much of a "feud" when the heels are winning every week. Speaking of Alexander, MVP teased recruiting him into his faction last week, but there didn't seem to be any real followup on that here aside from Lashley attacking him. I'd be down for Alexander joining them, but it seems the chances of that happening at this point are slim.

WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Sasha Banks and SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley def. The Kabuki Warriors

With Banks set to challenge Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship at Extreme Rules, this was the perfect main event for the go-home show and having the titles up for grabs was a big help. Granted, I never got the sense that they were in jeopardy of changing hands, but it was a top-notch main event nonetheless with everyone putting in an outstanding effort. Banks got to beat Sane after failing to do so last week in addition to building momentum ahead of Sunday, so this was a terrific piece of business all around.

Overall Show

That tag team title main event ended the evening on a high note, but I don't know how effective the overall show was in getting me more excited for Extreme Rules than I was before (and I wasn't highly anticipating it in the first place). Everything involving Raw that's being advertised for the event was hyped up and even Orton vs. Show was announced for next Monday night, but it wasn't a hot three hours by any means. That said, the in-ring action was above average and the women's division was properly showcased for a change, so that was a plus. Belair and Baszler returning is a step in the right direction with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair gone for the foreseeable future.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    #AskGSM
    Battle Of The Belts
    Cruiserweight Classic
    Halftime Heat
    Hidden Gems
    Interviews
    Lists/Rankings
    Mae Young Classic
    Mixed Match Challenge
    News
    NJPW
    NWA Shockwave
    NXT PLEs
    Opinion
    Previews
    Retro Reviews
    Reviews
    RJ's Two Cents
    Satire
    Slammy Awards
    SNME
    SummerSlam Recall
    The Deadly Draw
    The World Is A Vampire
    Tribute To The Troops
    Women's Eliminator
    Worlds Collide
    WrestleMania Recall
    WWE Draft
    WWE Network Specials
    WWE PLEs
    WWE Starrcade


    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    RSS Feed

©2025 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact